字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

evidence, proof, certificate

On’yomi ショウ
Kun’yomi あかし

Origin

The character 証 combines a word radical (言, meaning speech or language) on the left with a sound hint (正, which tells you roughly how to pronounce it) on the right. The left part makes sense because evidence and proof are things you declare or state with words—they're communicated through language. The right component 正 doesn't add meaning but guides the pronunciation toward "ショウ." Together, the character pictures a verified statement: something spoken or documented that proves something else is true.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).

証 12 strokes

Components

  • 言 radical left
  • 正 sound hint right

A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.

Common words

  • 偽証 ぎしょう false evidence; perjury
  • 検証 けんしょう verification; confirmation
  • 考証 こうしょう investigation into historical evidence; study of historical artifacts
  • 査証 さしょう visa
  • 実証 じっしょう demonstration; verification
  • 証拠 しょうこ evidence; proof
  • 証券 しょうけん bond; bill
  • 証言 しょうげん testimony; (verbal) evidence

Related kanji

Same sound component 正
Same radical

Reference

Strokes
12
Kangxi radical
149
Grade
Grade 5 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#306 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 1
Unicode
U+08A3C